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Please pass your reports to Iain, Jock or John. See our Contacts page for details.

Latest News

3rd September 2010
From Dave again -
Yesterday, 4 juvenile Pied Wagtails on our lawn at Broomlands, then 4 Linnets landed in the field next to the house. While watching them a Swallow was 'creating' and flying low by the dyke. Next thing a Grey Squirrel came up on the wall and on to the telegraph pole, dropped into the field and ran straight over towards me. Then it went around our fence, around next door and across the field towards the railway tunnel.

31st August 2010
From Dave Bradshaw yesterday -
From last weekend onwards, Swallows were gathering on wires at Broomlands or on the wires between Broomlands and Beattock village, up to 40 in some groups. Most were gone by Saturday.They seem to have gone earlier this year. Think they had a good breeding season with it being much dryer this year.
This afternoon 28 Swallows on wires in paddock facing house. Tthey have now moved on. At 7.30pm 24 House Martins on wires outside house, then joining our resident birds flying round our garden and flying up to the nest on house which has a second brood in. All season we have had Swallows and House Martins flying around the garden in the evenings but never this many House Martins. They must also be birds heading south. It looks like there is a big movement of migrants going south with the good weather.
There has been comments about the lack of butterflies this year. However, the recent spell of good weather seems to be bringing them out. In Greenwood Close, quite a number of Peacocks about, a few Tortoiseshell, an occasional Red Admiral, a single Small Copper and a lot of Small Whites. There were some Green Veined Whites earlier but none seen in the past week or so.

23rd August 2010
There has been a marked lack of reports lately! However, the schedule for the new season has now been prepared and can be found on our 'Events' page. Please note that the first meeting is on the
3rd September, not the 10th as some of you may have expected.

9th August 2010
From Dave Bradshaw:
Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey 08/08/10 on BBS square above Stidriggs -
Butterflies - 23 x Green Veined White, 2 x Ringlet, 2 x Small Heath.
Reptiles - 1 frog and a very small common lizard.
Birds seen Stidriggs to across River Kinnel - Meadow Pipits, a good flock of Great Tit, Blue tit, Coal Tit,
1 Chaffinch and 4 Goldcrest. 2 Buzzards circling over forest.at the small plantation. A Tawny Owl must have been roosting on a branch 3ft from the ground, it did not move at first but then flew into the plantation. A very clean looking bird, possible a young one. I was standing about 20ft from it. Over the fields, a Kestrel lifted with a rodent in its talons.

30th July 2010
Mentioned yesterday that Dave's photos were too large to include here. However, found time last night to do some resizing so here they are:

From left to right they are a Common Blue (male), Common Blue (female), Common Blues mating and a Scotch Argus. Click on the above images to see a larger version.

29th July 2010
Dave Bradshaw walked the Southern Upland Way from Earshaigs to Rivox on the 26th -
Birds seen: Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail, Swallow, House Martin, Buzzard, Redpoll, Crossbill, Siskin, Willow Warbler, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel.
Butterflies seen: 95 x Ringlet, 31 x Green Veined White, 4 x Meadow Brown, 1 x Small Heath, 1 x Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, 14 x Scotch Argus, 5 x Common Blue.
Also, on Crooked Road, 7 Mistle Thrush.
Dave also walked Southern Upland Way from Earshaigs to just short of Brattleburn on the 27th -
Birds: 2 adult Spotted Flycatchers with 4 juveniles in fallen tree area, first time seen this year here. This area had a lot more birds than yesterday - Willow Warblers and juveniles, Redpoll, 8 Crossbills, a pair of Stonechat and young, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Whinchat, On rest of walk. Robin, Wren, Crossbill 6 (1 singing male) Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Buzzard, Jay, Swift, Swallow, 5 Redpoll, Coal Tit. The path in some parts has lots of small toads on it.
Butterflies (recorded one way only). Ringlet x 107, Green Veined White x 8, Scotch Argus x 16, Common Blue x 1 male, 1 x female.
On Crooked Road, up 8 Wheatears in one group and 11 Mistle Thrushes in one group.

Note: Dave also sent us photographs of some of the butterflies. Unfortunately they are too large to be included here. We will, however, post them on our photo gallery in due course.

16th July 2010
A couple of reports from Dave Bradshaw -
1). Earshaigs 07/07/10 - no Spotted Flycatchers. Stonechat, Wren (first heard this year up there), Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler and juvs. Butterflies - 45 Ringlet, 2 Small Heath and 3 Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary butterflies.
Broomlands to our reserve and back 12/07/10 - 2 Ravens over the wooded hillside at the Red Brae, a Sparrowhawk has flown past Broomlands being mobbed by Swallows on two consecutive days. Evan Water at Beattock Bridge - Grey Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Dipper. Our reserve - Blackcap ,juv, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and juvs. Quarry reserve - 13 Canada Geese, Tufted Duck, 4 Mallard and 9 new chicks. Annandale Way/ Barnhill Road - Wheatear, juv Pied Wagtail, Greenfinch.
13/07/10 - what looks to be a fresh dead mink in the middle of the A701 before Hidden Corner opposite the reserve this morning. (Note, this has also been reported as an Otter).

2). Results of Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on BBS square, second visit - 1 x Green Veined White, 2 x Meadow Brown, 6 x Small Heath, 140 x Ringlet, 2 x Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, 2 x Large Heath and 6 x Chimney Sweeper moths.
Birds seen - 2 juvenile Wheatear, 2 Buzzard, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and good numbers of Meadow Pipit. What a differance a few weeks make. No Skylarks seen or heard and no Whinchats seen.

11th July 2010
As promised, a summary of the wildlife encountered during my mid-June holiday in Italy has now been made available. Not much in the way of birdlife but lots of other 'beasties' were seen. You can view the summary by clicking here.

9th July 2010
Very little by way of reports recently but here are a few that have come in over the past month:-
June 10th - the Hayley brothers saw three Cuckoos on wires while working at Eskdalemuir.
June 14th - the first of a number of records relating to the return of Red Squirrels to the Beechwood and the Gallow Hill area after an absence of 4/5 years, seen by Douglas Murray and June Henry among others. Very welcome news.
June 18th - a dead Nuthatch was reported at Fred Hyslops up St Ninians Road.

30th June 2010
Note that we now clarified the date for the Bat Night at Corehead.

Some reports from Dave Bradshaw-
Earshaigs, Sat & Sun 19th/20th - pair of Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Buzzard, Wheatear, Stonechat. Good numbers of Small Heath butterfly & small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, a pair of Green Veined Whites mating, 2/3 Golden Ringed dragonflies and Grass Rivulet moth.

Our reserve, Barnhill road to Beattock 22/06/2010 -
Our reserve - Sedge Warbler, pair of Grasshopper Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Roe deer.
Quarry - 4 Grey Heron, 11 Canada Geese, 5 Oystercatchers, pair of Tufted Ducks, 2 Common Sandpipers (on roof of medow hide), 1 Common Sandpiper flew over Quarry and landed on gravel outside new hide, Willow Warblers, Redpoll.
Barnhill road bridge - 16 Sand Martins, Goldfinch, Greenfinch. While walking back towards motorway I was being mobbed by Pied Wagtails nesting in the dyke.
Southern Upland Way / Evan Water - 2 Dippers, Blackcap, Willow Warbler.
The Brigg Inn - House Martins & Swifts, both nesting.

BBS and Timed Tetrad, moorland at Stidriggs, 28th & 29th June -
Good numbers of Whinchats, Skylark and Meadow Pipit, Willow Warbler, Red-legged Partridge, Swift, Buzzard, Redpoll, Siskin, Coal Tit. (Note no Spotted Flycatchers seen on high ground so far this year). Butterflies seen: 35 Small Heath, 9 Ringlet, 5 Meadow Brown, Green Veined White and both Small and Large White. Also 3 Hares, a Common Lizard and a Vole.

24th June 2010
An interesting observation by Jean Sanders in Greenwood Close - she was watching the Spotted Flycatchers at a nest box when she saw a mouse on the fence, climbing up to a peanut feeder, only about 6 feet from the nest box, extracting a peanut and scuttling off. As she watched it returned for another. A third attempt was thwarted as the Flycatchers chased it off!


Another interesting sighting - this time of a nice fungus growing on a cherry tree within a few feet of the pavement in Well Road. I am told this is a 'Chicken of the Woods' fungus (Laetiporus Sulphureus). Dimensions roughly 9 inches by 5 inches.Very pretty.

 

Now that the holiday in Italy is over, a report on some interesting sightings will be cobbled together and posted in due course.

9th June 2010 (updated)
Note - this will be the last update for about two weeks. Holiday time!

From Dave Bradshaw yesterday - Earshaigs: 6 calling Willow Warblers and 2 food foraging, a pair of Stonechats, male Whinchat,Kestrel, Buzzard carrying a vole, Mistle Thrush, Tree Pipit, Great Tit and Redpoll. Evan Water From Beattock Bridge: female Grey Wagtail, 2 Spotted Flycatchers.

A record of the nestboxes checked at our reserve on 4/5th June -
Blue Tits - 20 pairs,
Great Tits -7 pairs (RECORD COUNT)
Coal Tit -1 pair
Nuthatch -1 pair
Wren -1 pair
Starling - 3 pairs
House Sparrow - 2 pairs (on the farm)
Stock Dove - 7 pairs at least (RECORD COUNT)
Wasps - 6 nests at least.
Other sightings on the reserve included 2 male Tufted Duck, 1 male Teal, 1 Jay, 1 Magpie, good numbers of Orange-tip butterflies, also Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and White. 2 Roe Deer that are regulars at far end of the reserve. Over on the Quarry, a pair of Canada Geese have a solitary gosling, a pair of Oystercatcher hanging around the bottom island,2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Grey Heron and a Little Grebe.

Nextbox check at the Quarry today - 6 pairs of Blue Tits, 4 pairs of Great Tits and 1 pair of Coal Tits. The Oystercatchers had 2 young on the bottom island and there were 38 Canada Geese on the pond with the 1 gosling, a male Tufted Duck, a Little Grebe and 5 Grey Heron. Plenty warblers around and 2 Magpies down the bottom end. On our Reserve was another drake Tufted Duck - is the female sitting on a nest? There was a single Roe Deer and a 2 spot Ladybird.

8th June 2010
Iain has been checking nextboxes and saw the following on June 2nd in Croft Head/ Moffat Water area:
Great tit 7pairs, Blue Tit 7pairs, Redstart 3pairs, Wren 1pair in nestboxes.
Sand Martin colony of 9 nests on the river with 2pairs of Oystercatchers close by and 2 pairs of Common Sandpiper, 2 Raven flying over and 2 female Goosander.
Also in the woods were 2 pairs of Starling, 4 pairs of Treecreeper, 2 pairs of Nuthatch, 2 pairs of Great Spotted Woodpecker and a good 6 pairs of Spotted Flycatcher. Also sighted two Roe Deer and a Small Copper Butterfly.

4th June 2010
From Dave Bradshaw 3rd June - walked from home to Woodfoot bridge up the river bank on the River Annan a short distance and back again - Willow Warbler (5 singing males), Garden Warbler 2 (singing males), male Blackcap, 2 Sand Martins, a pair of Common Sandpipers, Whitethroat and all the usuals. Last week a flock of 23 Goldfinch between Milton and the farm. At Earshaigs, 20.10pm to 22.00pm - good numbers of singing Willow Warblers, Tree Pipits, and Redpolls, also Mistle Thrush and a flock of 32 Canada Geese flew over from Stiddriggs area towards Moffat. Cuckoo starting calling at 21.33pm, flew from the hill past me and landed in the fallen tree area on the Southern Upland Way, called a few times and then vanished. Male Wheatear on the Crooked Road on the way down

29th May 2010
Singing Whitethroat at the railway embankment near Broomlands yesterday morning. At Lochwood Oaks, also yesterday morning - 2 male Redstarts, male Blackcap, male Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Redpoll, Bullfinch, Jay, Coal Tit, Wren, Jackdaw, Starling, Spotted Flycatcher and Nuthatch. Also a Red Squirrel.

25th May 2010
Today, International Day for Biodiversity, we were delighted to entertain the children of Primary 3/4/5 on a visit to our reserve. The children were shown various aspects of wildlife in general and seemed particularly enthralled at the tadpoles and nymphs that had been dredged out of the local ponds. They also partcipated in some tree planting to form a new hedgerow and, in the course of this, unearthed a Common Lizard - the first time one has been recorded on the Reserve! It would appear that their visit was a great success and we would hope that some of what they saw and heard will stand them good in later life.
During the lunch break, a burst of warm sunshine brought out a lot of insect life but, alas, the children weren't there to see it. Common Blue darters, Red Darters and Blue-tailed damselfly, Orangetip and Red Admiral butterflies. We had to call on Andy Riches to identify one butterfly that none of had seen before - a Small Heath - Another first on our Reserve. Recording two new species in the one day just added the cream to the cake!
A truly great day for us all.
On a lesser note - a pair of Crossbills was seen at the reserve on Friday 21st - another first - making three new species in the space of five days!

Garden Bird Survey 2009 - the results are now posted and available via the menu button at the left of the page. Please note that this is quite a large page and will take some time to load if you are using a dial-up connection. The report is also available in PDF format should you wish to print it out. You can find the PDF here or via the report page. Please use the 'Refresh' button on your browser to ensure you have the latest page. Posting the report required a number of changes to our website so please advise us if you find any problems.